Don't Judge
by Squirtle1996
Summary: NaZa AU. Slight NaLu. Nerd Natsu. Erza, president of the student council, looking for her match after a broken past, meets a new boy that transfers to her school, Fairy High. Will this boy help her obtain happiness?
1. Chapter 1

Rising from her bed, Erza let out a long yawn. Her alarm clock on the side of her bed table rang at exactly 7:00 am. The redhead turned the alarm off and slipped into her slippers and headed for the bathroom.

She looked into the mirror and smiled softly. Another morning means another day at school and that's her motivation to wake up every morning. Her classmates, her teachers, they all meant a lot to her.

She just loves school.

As the student council president, the redhead is always looking forward to learn something new every day. If bakeries didn't exist in this world, then school would've been at the top of her list for favorite places to be.

Many people question how she maintains her marvelous figure.

With her beauty, it's obvious that she attracted many of the male students. Unfortunately for them, she just wasn't interested in dating.

It's not that she's playing hard to get. It's just that many people don't know that she had her heart cruelly broken when they first started high school. It's just something she doesn't like to share with people.

Putting on her school uniform which consists of a white blouse, a white and blue striped tie, and a red jacket. Erza had to look as clean and fresh as possible. Considering that she is at the top of the school, she needs to be able to present herself as the role model student.

She took a brush and brushed her long scarlet hair. Tying it into a ponytail, she quickly looked at herself in the mirror one more time.

"Looks good." Erza said to no one.

The redhead quickly made breakfast which consisted of a simple glass of milk and a side of strawberry cake. Looking at the clock, it was a few minutes before she had to leave for school. She cleaned the dishes and headed out the door before she was late.

Her house wasn't far away from her destination and there was no way that she would ever be late, yet she still walked quickly, as if in a hurry.

Arriving at the school entrance, students were quickly making their way inside. She proceeded to the front doors and stood there.

As the president, she greeted and opened the door for students with passion.

Erza was caught by surprise when someone abruptly hugged her from behind. She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

"Hey Lucy!" Erza greeted as she laughed at her childish friend.

Lucy was Erza's closest friend at school. She's a blonde with looks on par with Erza's, so naturally she was just as popular.

"Hey Erza!" Lucy laughed back.

Noticing that the bell was about to ring, the two friends made their way into the building and walked towards their homeroom. They were happily chatting along the way when someone unexpectedly stopped them in their tracks.

"Looking good as always my dearest Lucy!" A male with spiky orange hair kneeled before Lucy, took her hand, and planted a kiss.

Taking her hand back, Lucy sighed. "I already told you man times Loke, I already have someone I like, so stop sexually harassing me." She was already used to Loke's affection so she wasn't really flustered or bothered.

Loke was popular among the girls and he dated many, but he only seriously had eyes set on one. Everyone in the school knew that Loke had a crush on Lucy, but she always rejected him, claiming that she already had someone she liked.

Erza giggled and the two carried on like nothing happened at all. Loke just stared as their silhouettes disappeared around the corner.

Sitting through first period, almost everyone was asleep, besides Erza. As the top student of the school, she can't afford to nap.

But… she wasn't exactly the top student… if common sense were factored in.

Erza was smart, but wasn't the smartest. Half the time she's clueless and a blockhead. Sometimes even Lucy, the person that knows her the best, doesn't know what's going on in her head.

In terms of grades she's at the top with Lucy. Everyone respected her at school. She never abused her powers as the president and she looked out for others.

But… she's also very clumsy. Sometimes she doesn't understand the situations or doesn't feel the atmosphere. Not to mention, she has no shame. The girl wouldn't even mind walking around the school with just her undergarments on.

But that's what makes her attractive. She's strong and dependable yet, she is also innocent and there is that urge to need to protect her.

After first period, Erza and Lucy walked out of class and separated since they didn't have the same classes. The core classes were the same, but everyone chose their own liberal courses.

Erza liked to study about historical eras, especially during the times where war was frequent. She didn't really care much about the events, but she cared about the armors and weapons they used. She also took cooking class so that one day she could make her own strawberry cake at home. Lucy on the other hand liked to practice literature and writing.

At lunch, Erza and Lucy regrouped and sat at their usual spot on the roof. The roof was their secret lunch area since no one was there to disturb them, just peace and quiet. Not to mention the view was great and they could admire the entire school.

While eating, Erza remembered something.

"Hey Lucy, you never did tell me who you liked." Erza questioned her friend as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

Lucy blushed with a surprised reaction. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

Erza quickly finished her sandwich before crossing her arms and frowning.

"I'm not allowed to know?" Erza pouted.

Lucy giggled. "You don't know him. Besides, if you were to meet him, you would probably like him as well. Can't have that you know."

Erza raised a brow, she was now curious.

"Hahaha just kidding!" Lucy patted Erza on the shoulder.

"Well then, tell me." Erza repeated.

"Well he's just a childhood friend that I went to school with back when we were younger. It's no big deal." Lucy explained.

"So what do you like about him?" Erza asked.

"What's with the questions?" Lucy laughed. "Well, first of all he's unique. If you see him, you'll also say that. He's also a nice guy. He would go through anything for his friends. One time I was being bullied, no one stood up for me except for him. Even though he got into a lot of trouble for fighting, he said that it was worth it if it was for you." Lucy blushed as she explained.

"That's sweet of him. So have you guys made any progress?" Erza asked.

"Well… I did confess to him before we entered high school, but he turned me down. He said he only saw me as a younger sister." Lucy frowned as she recalled her earlier days.

"Oh, I apologize!" Erza bowed quickly at her friend.

"Nono it's okay! I already got over it. Besides, we still meet up sometimes and text. We're still best friends!" Lucy reassured her friend.

"I see. That's good to hear." Erza smiled as she raised here head.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! He's transferring to Fairy High tomorrow! Just thought I'd let you know." Lucy giggled.

"Huh…?" Erza raised a brow. It was just so sudden.

"Yup! The person I like will be here tomorrow! He's transferring from Fiore High!" Lucy said excited.

"Fiore High?" Erza questioned. Her gaze slowly went to the ground.

"Yeah. The same school that Jellal goes to." Lucy frowned as she mentioned a name she wasn't supposed to.

Lucy clearly forgot that mentioning Erza's ex-boyfriend caused her to feel down.

"Well anyways, he had some circumstances and wished to change schools." Lucy explained.

"Yeah I understand. We all heard about Salamander from Fiore High, the delinquent who loved to get into fights. Who wouldn't want to get away from that?" Erza giggled.

"You know about Salamander?" Lucy surprisingly asked.

Erza nodded in response. "I've heard stories about him before, but I never actually met him in person."

Erza tried to recall details about Salamander. "He's infamous for causing fights and he's really troublesome."

Lucy shook her head, as if she got offended.

"Nono! Those are just rumors!" Lucy shouted.

Erza stumbled back at Lucy's sudden outburst.

"Sorry for telling Erza…" Lucy apologized as she gazed away.

Erza was confused. It seemed like she was being defensive for some reason. But without questioning it, Erza accepted the apology.

Changing the subject, Lucy faked a smile. "Anyways, since it's his first day tomorrow, you're going to be the one to show him around, right? Please take care of him for me!" Lucy clapped her hands together and pleaded.

"Just leave it to me!" Erza replied, still not sure how coincidental it is that they were just talking about a boy, and he'll be here tomorrow.

"Speaking of relationships, did you find anyone you're into yet?" Lucy asked.

Erza closed her eyes and calmly shook her head in response.

"Come on Erza! You're pretty! Many guys like you! You're going to have to forget about Jellal! Don't you remember what he did?! He cheated on you with someone else! I would kick his ass—"

"That's enough." Erza stopped Lucy. "I know what he did, and I would never forget, but it's just that, I'm not interested in anyone."

"Alright Erza…. But when you find someone. I want you to seduce him, so that he'll make you his." Lucy winked seductively.

Erza's eyes widened and her face was flushed with the color scarlet. "Lucy! Show some decency!"

The next morning, Erza received a text from Lucy.

" _Sorry! I can't make it to school today! I got a fever I told my friend to meet you at the student council office in the morning before first period. Also, would you mind having lunch with him? Just so that he has company. Thank you!"_

Erza replied to Lucy's text, telling her that she's got everything under control.

The girl got into her uniform, did her hair, ate breakfast and marched towards school.

Erza walked quick, but not quick enough where she was breaking the rules. As the president, she must enforce all rules laid by the council, and running in the halls was prohibited. She wanted to see if Lucy's friend had arrived yet.

Turning the corner, she stumbled upon Loke and his gang. There, she saw Loke being troublesome once again. Loke may be popular with the girls, be he's also an ass and bullies people who he thinks is inferior to himself.

"What's with the hair?! You paint it or something?" Loke laughed as he kicked a boy on the leg.

He then proceeded to punch the victim in the gut, causing the person to cover his stomach in pain. Loke then grabbed him by the hair and shoved him into a locker. The bully then tried to punch him in the face, but was stopped when someone grabbed his shoulder. Turning around, he wasn't greeted by his gang, but a red demon.

"Loke…" Erza glared.

"What…?" Loke shivered. His voice began to shake.

Erza may be the president of the student council, and a beauty, but she also has an infamous demon side, who would scare even the toughest of people. Not many people get to see that side of her, but when needed, she is not afraid to show it.

Loke quickly got away from Erza's clutch and ran off as fast as he could.

"That Loke!" Erza screamed. She turned around to see the person picking up his belongings which were thrown around.

"Here let me help you!" Erza said as she helped pick everything up.

"Here." She said, handing him his things.

The male looked up, and Erza was surprised. The male had flat salmon pink hair, he wore big glasses, a white scaly scarf and looked completely out of confidence. The male muttered a quiet 'thank you' and walked off.

"That hair… is he from here…?" Erza raised a brow.

Looking at the clock, it was almost first period and she still had to meet up with Lucy's friend, so she quickly power walked to the office.

Panting at the door and making sure she hasn't pass the speed limit, she shouted at the girl currently in the office. "Did anyone stop by to look for me?"

"Morning Prez!" the vice president waved.

"Morning Mira! Did anyone come looking for me?!" Erza asked.

"Why yes. He's sitting in the room right—"

Before Mirajane could finish her sentence, Erza quickly dashed into the backroom of the office.

Seeing that someone was really waiting for her she quickly bowed for forgiveness.

"SORRY I'M LATE!" Erza apologized.

"No problem." A male with pink hair muttered.

Hearing a familiar voice respond, she looked up to see a familiar face with pink hair.

"Oh it's you." Erza smiled.

…

She stood silent for a few seconds until realization hit her.

"YOU'RE LUCY'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND?!" Erza screamed.

The male just nodded slightly with a blank face.

Erza stumbled back a little. She couldn't imagine that someone like him would be Lucy's best friend. Even though Erza never judged anyone before, he still looked like those typical nerds. She clearly couldn't imagine Lucy liking him. But he is unique. She had never met anyone with that hair color before.

"Well, sorry for yelling. But my name is Erza, Erza Scarlet. What's your name?" Erza asked as politely as possible.

"My name is Natsu, Natsu Dragneel." The male replied.

Erza smiled and then quickly pulled out her phone and turned her back against the newcomer, quickly texting something.

' _Your friend is Natsu Dragneel right?'_

Lucy quickly replied. ' _I see you have met him. He's pretty unique right?! Please take care of him!'_

Erza replied back. _'He's unique alright…'_

Turning back to Natsu, she gave her brightest smile.

"Well then Natsu, do you have a schedule yet?" Erza asked.

Natsu nodded and took out a sheet of paper from his bag and handed it over to Erza. Scanning his schedule, she was surprised a little.

"We have a similar schedule, so we'll be seeing each other a lot in class." Erza chuckled. Natsu just nodded.

"Well anyways Natsu, let's head to class. The bell is about to ring. I'll show you around the school during lunch." Erza explained.

When they arrived to their homeroom, everyone was doing their own thing since the teacher wasn't in yet. When the class had finally noticed that Erza was in the room, everyone went quiet and stared at her.

"Everyone! Today we have a new transfer student! His name is Natsu! So please treat him nicely!" Erza shouted.

Natsu waved and bowed towards his new classmates.

"What's with the hair?!" A male with raven black hair yelled.

"Gray be nice!" Erza shouted.

"What?! I just thought that it was cool. I didn't mean to offend him or anything…" Gray retaliated.

"Natsu, don't mind him. He's always like that." Erza said.

"Thanks. You're really nice…" Natsu muttered but smiled back.

"No problem! A friend of Lucy's is a friend of mine!" Erza smiled.

"Well anyways Natsu, as you can see the tables in class are arranged in pairs. I sit here, and Lucy sits beside me. Unfortunately, the only remaining seat is at the back beside a guy named Laxus, but he never shows up anyways so you can sit there. Well you can sit beside me today since I'll be lonely without your girlfriend here." Erza said to see if she could get any emotions out of this guy. Ever since she met him, he never genuinely smiled.

Natsu began to blush, but he didn't say anything. Erza just giggled at the boy's flustered face when she teased him.

Natsu and Erza had their first and third class together, right before lunch. After the third period bell rang, Erza brought Natsu to where her and Lucy would usually eat.

She honestly wasn't surprised that Natsu was smart. Any questions the teacher challenged him with, he was able to answer.

What she worried about was his social life. He never approached anyone in class. All he did was greet them slightly and that was it. He never approached anyone, so of course, no one approached him.

Luckily for Natsu, the student council president was his friend and she was determined to help him out.

"So Natsu, how's school for you so far? Are you enjoying it?" the redhead asked as she took a bite from her sandwich.

"Ok, I guess…" Natsu mumbled as he chewed on his sandwich.

He didn't really want to talk about school. All he wanted was to have a peaceful lunch, but since it was Erza, he had to show her respect for taking care of him this morning.

"That's good…" Erza turned her gaze to the ground.

Thinking that it was getting awkward, she decided to change the subject. "By the way, I heard from Lucy that you used to go to Fiore High. Is that true?" Erza questioned.

Natsu nodded in response.

"Wow! Does that mean you know about the rumored Salamander? I heard that anyone that went to Fiore High trained to be stronger because they feared him." Erza smiled as she tried to change the mood.

Turning his gaze to look the redhead in the eye, Natsu stayed silent for a moment.

"Do I look strong?" Natsu asked with no expression. Erza didn't say anything. She wanted to, but she didn't have the words.

"There you go." Natsu said. He then stood up, packed his things and exited the roof.

Realizing that her fellow companion had left, Erza quickly packed her things and followed him as well. She didn't know what she was thinking, asking him a question like that. It was clear that he probably didn't like people asking him questions like that. She didn't want to make things awkward between them and chased after him to apologize.

"Wait Natsu! I didn't mean it like that!" Erza yelled as she ran after the boy. Finally catching up to him, she grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. "I'm sorry Natsu. I didn't mean to offend you." Erza bowed quickly. Natsu stared at her in her bowing position, and giggled. Hearing the male laugh, the redhead looked up at him to see him smiling.

"What's so funny? I was really trying to apologize!" Erza shouted.

"Oh! I'm sorry. It's just that, when you apologize, it's pretty cute." Natsu continued to giggle.

It was now Erza's turn to get flustered. It was the first time she had heard the boy laugh, and it was refreshing, compared to his usual emotionless self.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I wasn't offended or anything." Natsu replied.

"Really?" Erza hit him lightly on the arm as payback for making fun of her.

"Ow that hurts!" Natsu rubbed his arm with a fake hurt expression.

"I'm really sorry!" Erza bowed again.

"See! You're doing it again! It's cute!" Natsu giggled. Erza looked at the male and pouted.

"STOP TEASING ME!" Erza shouted with a blush on her face.

"Yeah yeah. Anyways, it's almost time for class. Shall we get going, prez?" Natsu winked at the last part.

Erza sighed and nodded. The two of them began to walk to their next class together when Natsu suddenly whispered something into her ear.

"By the way, Salamander is actually a nice person."

Natsu walked in front of Erza as she was taken aback.

"That was unexpected…" Erza said to no one.

During class, Natsu was sitting at the back of the room, while Erza sat at the front. She looked at him to see that he was back to his normal self, emotionless and lacked confidence. Now the redhead was confused. Natsu was a fun person to be around with, like she had experienced at lunch. She just didn't understand why he was being so distant now though.

After school, Erza parted ways with Natsu and decided to go visit Lucy before heading home.

Arriving at Lucy's house, she was greeted by her mother, Layla. Layla was happy that Erza was visiting Lucy and quickly let her in. Erza made her way up the stairs and into Lucy's room.

"Hey Lucy." Erza smiled at her sick friend who was lying in bed.

"Oh, Hey Erza. Fancy meeting you here." Lucy smiled at her friend.

"How are you feeling now?" Erza asked with concern when she saw her with a wet towel on her forehead. "Do you think you can come to school tomorrow?"

"Yeah I'm feeling much better so I'll probably be going to school tomorrow." Lucy replied.

"That's good to hear." Erza smiled.

"Anyways, how was Natsu? Did he trouble you?" Lucy asked.

"Well…" Erza explained everything about today after meeting up with Natsu.

From finding the male getting abused by Loke, to what they did in class and at lunch.

"Hahaha! Out of everyone he could tease, he just had to tease you!" Lucy laughed.

Erza pouted in response and then raised her brow. "By the way. Is Natsu always like this? He is clearly not the person you described him to be. I mean, in class he doesn't even try to meet anyone. It's like he's trying to isolate himself from everybody else. The only person he talked to was me."

"Well, that just means he likes you!" Lucy joked.

Erza's face began to grow red.

"Just kidding." Lucy winked.

"I'm going to kill you!" Erza shouted as she held the blonde by the shoulder and began shaking her like a maniac.

"Alright Erza! I get it I get it!" Lucy stopped laughing.

"Well to answer your question. He's been like that since the end of second year. He told me that he had lost interest and didn't want to be bothered anymore." Lucy explained, but the blonde was shocked when she saw Erza crying.

"I'm so sorry!" Erza bowed. "I didn't know you were going through so much! It must've hurt when he said that to you!" Erza sobbed as she embraced Lucy.

"Huh? WHAT?!" Lucy yelled. "That's not what I meant! I meant that he lost interest in making friends."

"Huh?" Erza let Lucy out of her hug. "Is that why he seems so down?"

Lucy nodded in response. "So when you see him, don't force him to make friends or talk about girls."

"Why not girls?" Erza questioned.

"BECAUSE HE'S MINE!" Lucy yelled.

Erza began to laugh at Lucy's boldness and the blonde began to laugh herself.

.

.

.

 **A/N:**

 **For those of you who are new to the story, this is a remake of my old story "Don't Judge". Concepts will be the same, but I'm trying to change some things. If you want to know where the story might go, you can check out the old story when it's still up!**


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was already up and shining intensely when Erza reached Lucy's front door. It was just yesterday that Lucy got sick, yet she was determined to go back to school already. It's only natural for Erza to come pick her up in her current state. That's what friends do.

It's been a few minutes since Erza arrived, until Lucy finally began unlocking the door. She was dressed more beautiful than usual. Stepping out of her home, Lucy turned around to lock the door before leaving for school.

"Morning Lucy!" Erza bowed when she saw the blonde squealing in surprise.

The sheer surprise of Erza had Lucy tumbling down the stairs of her porch.

"Woah watch out Lucy. There is no need to rush." Erza said as she caught Lucy before she fell.

"Huh? Erza? What are you doing here?" The blonde asked as she balanced herself.

The redhead looked at the blonde as if she was crazy.

"Why do you ask? A sick friend needs my help to accompany her to school, so here I am." Erza smirked.

Lucy casually face-palmed and giggled.

"Of course, typical Erza. Thanks anyways." Lucy smiled as she hooked arms with Erza.

The two friends began to walk to school before they were late. Well… Erza was walking. Lucy was trying to skip ahead, while Erza tried to keep up.

"Why do you seem so excited today?" Erza giggled. She then scanned Lucy again. "And why did your attire change?"

Lucy looked away when she heard the question, her face quickly heating up into a bright red.

Erza smirked when she saw the blonde's reaction. She decided to push it a little more.

"Are you trying to look pretty for your boyfriend, Natsu…kun…?" Erza asked seductively with a mischievous smirk.

Lucy tried to run away, but her arms were still linked with Erza, and there was no way she could beat her at a challenge of strength.

"I... umm… uhh… I…" Lucy mumbled.

"Yes…?" Erza asked playfully as her face got closer to the blonde's.

Lucy couldn't hold out much longer.

"Okay, I give up Erza…" Lucy said as she sighed at the ground.

The blonde unwrapped her arm from Erza's and started poking her index fingers together.

"It's just that… I never had a class with him since middle school… so I'm just a little excited…" Lucy mumbled the last part.

Erza placed her hand on her lips and began to giggle. She just had so much fun teasing her best friend.

Inside the school, Lucy scanned the area for a male with pink hair. Erza trailed behind her, also trying to spot pink hair. Browsing through the hallways with no signs of the boy, someone suddenly stopped them from continuing.

"Greetings Lucy!" Loke smiled and then turned to the redhead and gave a dead stare. "Erza."

"Hey Loke." Lucy sighed in annoyance. She had no time for him right now. She had to find Natsu.

"Hey Loke. Have you seen the boy with pink hair?" Erza was the one to entertain Loke.

The male raised a brow in shock before shaking his head with a smirk.

"Pinky? Haven't seen him. Why are you looking for a loser like him? It's obvious that I'm the better choice anyways." Loke jerked his thumb at himself with a wink.

"Shut up Loke." Was all Erza had to say before dragging Lucy away.

"Don't listen to that jerk, Lucy. He badmouths everyone. Don't mind him." Erza reassured the girl as she kept searching for the boy.

Lucy sighed in response. "Don't worry about it Erza. I don't take anything he says seriously anyways. Besides, I already knew he would be the social outcast anyways.

"What do you mean?" Erza raised a brow.

She was confused on what Lucy meant by expecting him to be the social outcast.

"Well, that's what he wanted so I can't really stop him from doing what he wants, even though I think it isn't right." Lucy answered. "Anyways, let's just go to class, we'll see him there anyways."

The two girls waited in the classroom for class to start. They waited patiently as the bell was about to ring any minute, yet there was no sign of the boy showing up.

What they haven't realized was that he was already in school. It's just that he was a little occupied right now.

"Let's take his glasses and flush them down the toilet." A male said as he snatched the glasses off the victim.

"Nah, let's just flush him down the toilet!" another male laughed as he grabbed the victim's hair.

"How about we just beat the crap outta him." Another one suggested.

After Natsu had arrived to school, the boys found and forced him into the stair hall that no one uses.

The group of guys continued to snicker until another male showed up through the door.

"Hey Loke." The three greeted in unison.

Without even looking them, Loke grabbed Natsu by his white scarf and spat in his face. He then proceeded to push him to the floor. The sound of his landing echoed through the empty area.

Natsu was hurt, but he kept a strong face, not showing any weakness. He used his arms to slowly push himself off the floor as he stood back up. He then wiped the spit off his face. He then sighed in relief when he saw that his scarf wasn't damaged.

"Explain to me. Why is Lucy looking for you? Who is she to you?" Loke asked furiously.

The pink haired male didn't reply. Loke then kicked his leg which caused him to drop onto his knee.

"Answer my question or I'll make you feel pain." Loke was pissed now.

Natsu didn't say anything. He just got back up again. The leg that Loke kicked was visibly shaking, probably due to the sharp pain.

"Playing tough now are we? I'll let you know, I'm the strongest in this school. If I wanted to knock you out, I could do it in two seconds." Loke cracked his knuckles as he smirked.

Loke thought that his intimidation had worked. However, his smirk disappeared when Natsu's face slowly crept into a smile. It was no ordinary smile. It was as if Natsu was looking down on him.

Frustrated, Loke gutted Natsu. He then grabbed onto a chunk of his hair as Natsu flinched down from the blow. The force of the pull made Natsu's flat hair, spike up.

The bell for first period rang. Students began to pass by the stair hall.

"Come on Loke, we have to go." One of the teenage boys said.

Sighing, Loke let go of Natsu, and then gave him a deathly glare.

"I'm not done with you yet, Dragneel." Loke scowled.

The bullies left the stair hall, with Loke eyeing Natsu one last time as he tried to stand up.

"Where have I seen that hair before?" Loke said to no one.

In class, Lucy was worried about Natsu's absence. It was his second day at school and he's nowhere to be found.

"Where is he…? The bell already rang." Lucy pouted at Erza.

"I'm sure he's just running late." Erza comforted the blonde.

"Hmm… I guess…" Lucy sighed.

"That means I'll have to give him punishment, as the student council president." Erza laughed.

"Come on Erza. Don't be like that. He'll be hanging with us for the rest of the year. Don't make it hard for your friends." Lucy pouted.

"As the president of the student council, I must set a standard and become a role model for the younger ones, so no exceptions." Erza shouted proudly.

Lucy just giggled at the way her friend takes everything so seriously.

"I just finished taking attendance, so Natsu and Laxus are the only ones away?" The teacher shouted to get the attention of the class.

"Alright then, would anyone like to take down the attendance?"

Erza quickly raised her hand. "As the president of the student council, it would be my honor to take down the attendance." The redhead declared.

Everyone tried to hold in their laughter.

The attendance office was pretty far from their homeroom as they were on the third floor, while the office was on the first.

Walking through the hallways, the redhead spotted Natsu walking out of the washroom, with his hair back to his 'nerd' style. He had walked passed her without even realizing her presence.

"Hey Natsu! You're late!" Erza shouted as she turned around to look at the male.

Stopping when he heard his name, he turned around to see a familiar redhead.

"Oh sorry Erza. I was in the washroom. I'll head to class now." Natsu bowed in forgiveness.

"We already took attendance, so you're going to have to sign in." Erza declared as she held the attendance in his face.

"Can't you just erase my absent right now? You have the attendance with you." Natsu asked.

"As the president of the student council, I must set an example for the younger ones, so no I cannot do that." Erza said with confidence.

Noticing Natsu giggle, she blushed.

"What's so funny?!" Erza shouted with embarrassment.

"Sorry Erza!" Natsu giggled. "It's… it's… just that… nevermind…" Natsu continued to giggle. "I'll go sign in."

Calming down, Erza and Natsu began their walk to the attendance office. The hall was filled with silence since they were the only ones there. It only remained silent because they didn't know what to say to each other.

Erza noticed that Natsu had become more open just a moment before. He was giggling at her, so she decided to push it a little.

"You know… you could talk and smile more. I mean… I know you could do those, but why are you trying to hide it?" Erza asked.

Natsu stopped in his track. Erza followed as she stared at him.

"Natsu…?" Erza called out, worried that she had pushed the wrong buttons.

"I'm sorry Erza. It's just who I am. I can't do anything about it." Natsu mumbled.

Erza continued to stare at him with discomfort, but also confidence.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize to me. I understand. Maybe some day, if you need someone to talk to, I'll be here, if you need me." Erza reassured him.

She placed her hand on the boy's shoulder with a loving smile. Natsu looked at her eyes. He was taken back by how pretty her eyes were.

"You know… I'm grateful that you interact with me, unlike the others." Natsu tried to force a laugh.

"Don't worry about it. Any friend of Lucy's is a friend of mine." Erza smiled back.

"Anyways, we're at the office." Erza then took out a pencil, and used the eraser on the back to erase Natsu's absent.

"There. You don't have to go in." Erza smiled.

"Huh? Why did you erase it?" Natsu raised a brow.

"Absents don't look good on record. I'll do it for you just this time." Erza winked.

"Then why did I come here if you were going to erase it anyways?" Natsu asked.

"Because I wanted your company" Erza put on her brightest smile.

It was now Natsu's turn to be flustered.

"Anyways, lets go back to class. I'm sure Lucy is waiting for you." Erza giggled before taking off.

Natsu stood there for a little bit, just watching the redhead getting further and further away from him. He was deciding whether he should tell her that him and Lucy weren't a thing or not. Sighing in defeat, he made his way back to class well.

He bowed to the teacher in apology for coming in late and disturbing the class. He noticed that Lucy was waving at him slightly and he gave a small smile as acknowledgement before going to his seat. He laughed a little on the inside when he saw Erza, who was sitting beside the blonde, nudging at her to pay attention in class.

Class was the same as his first day. He had first class with both Lucy and Erza, and third class with Erza only. The first class was pretty boring for him since he had to sit at the back by himself. He didn't particularly pay attention either. Most of the stuff homeroom was teaching, he had already learned. The only thing that kept him from falling asleep was his classmate, Gray Fullbuster. That guy kept on stripping for some reason while a girl named Juvia kept drooling at him. He had to hold in his laughter if he didn't want to get in trouble.

Things got interesting in cooking class, which was the third block on his schedule. He asked Erza if he could sit beside her since no one was. She welcomed him with opened arms. He thought that many people would be fighting to sit with Erza since people sitting beside each other usually paired up for assignments, yet no one sat beside the president.

He found out why. It turns out that Erza had no cooking knowledge whatsoever. The teacher asked the pairs to do a trial run on baking muffins so that she could assess where everyone's cooking skills are at. Erza had told Natsu to step back, and that she got everything under control. Unfortunately for him, the muffins turned out gooey, burnt, and alive, all at the same time!

When Erza had asked him to try them, he refused, but she kept egging him on. Knowing that he was doomed to resist her, he took a little bite out of one and headed for the infirmary immediately.

"HAHAHAHA!" Lucy laughed furiously.

"Stop laughing!" Erza shouted at her friend. She was glowing red in embarrassment.

It was currently lunch time and Lucy had asked Natsu how his second day was. When she found out that Erza's cooking sent Natsu straight to the doctors, she started cracking up.

"Yeah… it was pretty bad…" Natsu said, monotone.

"Please… it was my first time!" Erza pouted at him.

"No it isn't." Lucy giggled.

"Shhhhhhhhh!" Erza covered Lucy's mouth with her hands. Forcing a laugh, she turned to Natsu.

"Don't worry! Next time, trust me… It'll definitely taste good!" She reassured him.

Natsu didn't reply as he was finishing up his lunch.

"Is he mad at me?" Erza whispered into Lucy's ear.

"Nah that's just how he is." Lucy whispered back in reassurance.

Breaking the silence, Erza stood up. "Well, let's head back now. The bell is about to ring soon."

The other two nodded before packing up and throwing out their garbage. When they walked down the stairs, Natsu's face began to change and his movements slowed down.

"Natsu! You're limping! Are you okay?!" Lucy shouted when she noticed that his face was clearly in pain. She reached out to support him.

"What happened?!" Erza asked as well.

Natsu had been holding back this entire time. The pain on his leg that was inflicted by Loke earlier today had finally took a toll on him, but there was no way that he could tell them without them worrying. He's done making his friends worried.

"It's nothing…" Natsu replied as he lifted an arm up, implying to Lucy that he didn't need help.

"You were fine before! What happened?" Erza continued to ask.

"Like I said, it's nothing…" Nastu replied again.

"Don't lie to me!" She was now getting heated. Erza was the type of person to help anyone. There was no way that she could let this slide.

Natsu didn't reply.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Erza shouted as he grabbed his arm.

"Erza, you should stop. If he says it's nothing, then it's fine…" Lucy spoke as she lowered her head.

"But Lucy! He's clearly in pain—"

Erza paused when she turned to see Lucy in tears.

"P-p-please… just stop…" Lucy begged.

Erza was shocked at the sudden development. She then took a deep breath to calm herself down. The redhead patted the blonde's head to comfort her.

"If you say you're fine, then so be it." She told Natsu without even looking at him.

The two girls left Natsu behind as he limped his way back.

The next few days had been awkward. Erza didn't try to socialize with him. He didn't sit beside her in cooking class. At lunch, he would show up, while Erza pretended like he wasn't there. Lucy tried to diffuse the situation, but no one responded when she brought it up.

Just like that, Natsu and Erza's relationship had been strained.

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 **A/N:**

 **I hope you guys are liking the story so far! The old story was my second most popular story after "I'll look after you". The goal for this one is to beat that!**

 **Thank you all for reading and I'll see you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

Cooking class was tense. It was the first real assignment that was given to the students. It required a pair of two to bake a simple cupcake within the hour and thirty minutes of class. Most of the students already called dibs on the person they wanted to work with. It was mostly the pairs that sat beside each other since they were already friends to begin with.

The task was simple. If they knew how to read, then there was no way that anyone could fail. It was basically free marks.

Free marks for everyone, except for Erza and Natsu.

Whatever Erza touches become poison, simple as that. Everyone knew that Erza couldn't cook even if she could follow the recipe one-hundred percent. It takes true talent and a culinary genius to mess up as much as she does. But she still loves cake!

On the contrary, Natsu had been hailed as a genius among his peers, maybe even above Erza, yet… he tends to burn everything. No one knows why. The things he made that didn't get burned tastes pretty good, confirmed by Erza. He just has a tendency to nuke the thing in the oven and watch as it crumbles in flames.

With both of them having flaws that no one wanted to deal with, they were singled out of the bunch. It would only be natural for them to pair up with each other, they were friends after all. But unfortunately, they still hadn't made up for what had happened a few days ago, and of course, didn't consider each other as potential partners. They never even managed to have a conversation while at war with each other.

Natsu didn't know why it mattered to her so much. Sure, he was trying to hide his injuries, but it's not like he couldn't handle it. He wanted to tell her that it was pointless to argue over this and to stop treating him like a child, but he remained silent since it probably would've got him scolded even more.

Certainly, she was the president of the student council and as the person at the top of the school, she would want justice. But sometimes justice isn't always the solution. Sometimes, people just have to turn a blind eye.

Natsu looked around the classroom to see if anyone didn't have a partner. There must be someone who didn't have a partner since the class had an even number of students. His eyes slowly made their way around the pairs of students until he saw a redhead eyeing him from afar.

When she noticed his gaze on her, Erza panicked and quickly turned away to avoid his stare. He had caught her eyeing him from afar. Her face brightened red quickly as her temperature rises to the max.

Sighing in defeat, Natsu slowly made his way over to the flustered girl. Something had to be done.

"Hey Erza, it seems like everyone has a partner already." Natsu mumbled in front of the girl.

When she noticed that Natsu was in front of her, she bolted back, as if someone had scared her.

"S-s-so what?!" Erza shouted, a little too loud. The duo was now the center of attraction as everyone stared at the pair. Erza was now even more flustered.

"Stop staring and get back to work!" Yelled the president. And naturally, everyone went back to what they were doing. No one wanted to incur the wrath of the red-haired demon.

Catching her breath, she slowly calmed herself down. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life. Her face was slowly turning back to its original color. Unfortunately for her, she forgot that Natsu was still there. Quickly eyeing him again, she began to redden again when she saw the boy trying his hardest to hold in his laugh.

"What's so funny?!" Erza shouted at him quietly so that no one could eavesdrop.

Natsu coughed and cleared his throat from his laughter.

"Nothing." He said with no expression in his voice as if nothing had happened just now.

"Do you want to be my partner?"

"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to be my—"

Natsu was taken a back. Was he hearing this right?

"What did you say, I didn't hear it." Natsu replied as if he actually didn't hear her.

"Jeez… making a girl repeat herself… it's embarrassing you know…" Erza pouted as she avoided his gaze.

This was the first time he saw Erza in such a state. From a demon to an angel. He was fully aware that Erza had a girly side to her, but he was caught off guard right now. Looking at her flustered reactions mesmerized him.

And here, he was trying to be a man and take the initiative to ask her to be his partner. It was either she become his partner, or they both fail, simple as that. He didn't know how she was going to respond since it was pretty awkward between them, but it seems like she was one step ahead of him.

Natsu nodded his head to confirm their partnership.

"Good." Erza said as she turned around and walked towards an empty cooking station.

Following her, Natsu wondered what was going on in her head. He wasn't sure how he was going to approach her, but there was one thing he knew for sure and it must be done, no matter what.

Erza taking the recipe, read through the list of ingredients required for the cupcakes. The recipe was for a batch of six. However, they only needed one perfect cake to pass.

"3/4 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour, 2 cups of sugar, a tablespoon of baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 4 sticks of unsalted cubed butter, 4 eggs, a cup of whole milk, a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, 6 cups of confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup of milk, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract." She said to herself.

Erza rushed to the storage room and quickly gathered the ingredients in record time. Natsu had no time to respond or help her at all. He just stared at her blankly as she fumbled around.

It's as if she was working alone, not even acknowledging the boy's presence. If he were to interrupt her right now, she would probably get even angrier than before, so he decided to wait until she asked for help. Besides, she had an hour and twenty minutes left.

What could possibly go wrong?

The redhead felt comfortable right now. The recipe didn't seem too hard, and there was no way that she would mess this one up. She didn't need no help from anybody. Erza was determined to completely finish this assignment herself, and Natsu can silently wait as he gets carried for all she cared.

Reading the recipe, Erza preheated the oven to 325ºF. She then opened the cupboard to bring out some bowls and a cupcake pan. She then poured the flour, 2 cups of sugar, and the salt into a bowl, mixing and combining all the ingredients that the recipe had read.

Next on the recipe was adding the butter. Erza unwrapped the sticks of butter and threw it into the bowl, causing a loud smack.

Natsu took back what he said about Erza. She wasn't girly at all.

He now knew why Erza couldn't cook. She wasn't gentle enough. Erza had too much energy in her and she would overdo things or would rush as fast as she could. Even when she was mixing the flour and sugar, she would stir too hard and some of it fell off the bowl.

Now for the eggs. Erza brought the 4 eggs to her side. She picked one up and smacked it against the bowl, causing the egg to ooze a little. Next, she cracked the egg open, but she used too much force, causing too much pressure, thus cracking the shell into small pieces instead of two clean halves. Some of the shell stuck onto the egg whites and mixed into the batter. Erza was in her own world and continued, as if there weren't any problems at all. The same thing happened with the other 3 eggs.

Natsu mentally sighed and face-palmed himself when he saw the concoction Erza had made.

'Why does this have to happen to me? I just wanted a normal life…'

Erza then poured the cup of whole milk and pure vanilla extract into the batter. She then mixed it really hard, like it was part of a competition and she was rushing towards the finish line. The finished batter didn't look thick enough, but Erza didn't know that. It's not like she had good experience with baking.

She then placed six cupcake liners into the cupcake pan and proceeded to pour her creation. After filling all six, she put on some oven mitts and nodded towards Natsu, indicting him to open the oven door. The boy sighed and opened the oven door, just as asked. Placing the raw cupcakes in, they had 15 minutes to make the icing since that's how long they're baking it for.

Using another bowl, Erza creamed 2 sticks of softened butter and added 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup of milk, and the vanilla extract together. She then beat the mixture like she would beat Loke if he ever messed with her.

Erza then pulled out another bowl and split half of the frosting into it. She then got red and blue food coloring, putting a drop of each color into a bowl. She then mixed the both until it was a scarlet red just like her hair, and a deep blue. She then poured the frosting into icing bags so she could decorate the cupcakes later. After the frosting was complete, there was still about 5 minutes before the cupcakes were ready.

Erza tiredly sighed and wiped her forehead. She finished the assignment without any help and she felt proud of herself for accomplishing such a task. Baking definitely wasn't her strong point no matter how much she liked sweets. She just hoped that the cupcakes were good enough to get a good mark.

She looked through the oven window to see the cupcakes rising like they're supposed to. Content with her work, she cheerfully smiled, but turned speechless when she saw the reflection of a boy staring at her from behind.

She had completely forgot that Natsu was her partner.

Panicking, she turned around to see Natsu quietly looking at her. When he noticed that she was looking at him, he gave her a small smile. Flustered, she walked towards him and stood by his side, both not looking at each other.

Silence stayed between the duo as they waited for the cupcakes to finish.

Erza stared at the two icing bags as if she was reminiscing about something.

"You know… Natsu… I really don't like this feeling." Erza was the first to break the silence.

"Huh?" Natsu dryly replied.

Turning to face him, Erza's face first began to glow pink, but faded when she calmed down.

"Are you really okay with this?" Erza asked.

Natsu turned around to face her as well.

"Okay with what?" He responded.

"Things between us! Do you not feel anything at all?!" Erza quietly shouted to not attract any unwanted attention.

Hearing those words, Natsu's body tensed and he clenched his fists tightly in a fit of rage.

Of course he had feelings. Of course he cared about their relationship. She was his first and only friend he had met in this new school. Moving to Fairy High, Natsu wasn't planning to approach anyone, let alone make friends. He decided to stay as a loner, to move on. Yet, regardless of his new appearance and personality, she still approached him without a second thought. Erza was different from everyone else.

She had a great sense of justice and she accepted everyone. That's what made him wary of her and the reason why he hesitates to get any closer with her. If things got rough on his end, she would definitely be involved, and he didn't want that. He already had Lucy and his sister to worry about after all.

Despite all that, he knew that she would be a friend that he could rely on. She was definitely strong, probably stronger than most males at this school. She could be an airhead, but she's definitely more attentive than anyone else. Not to mention, and he's not going to lie to himself, she's pretty cute... even if she may be a demon…

He wasn't sure of it himself, but maybe, just maybe, she had the power to change him.

Finally calming down, he unclenched his fists and put on a small grin.

Erza raised a brow at him, not knowing why he was smiling like that. But before she realized though, her confused look faded into a stunned look.

"W-w-what are you doing?!" Erza shouted.

The entire class looked towards the duo. The girls were flustered and squealing, while the guys' mouths dropped to the floor.

Natsu had Erza in his arms, wrapped up all warmly.

"Just showing you some appreciation for all the things you've done for me." Natsu mumbled into her ear. This caused the redhead to heat up drastically.

"Huh?! What did I do?!" Erza panicked.

"For being my friend." Natsu giggled before releasing the redhead from his grips. He then pointed at their oven.

"And for baking those cupcakes."

"Oh shoot!"

Realizing that her cupcakes were still baking, she forgot what happened just now and quickly ran towards the oven. She opened the oven and tried to grab the tray, but Natsu grabbed her arm before she could reach them.

"Watch out! You'll burn yourself." Natsu yelled with caution.

Natsu got an oven mitt and wore it. "Let me handle this."

The boy took the tray out of the oven with caution. Thankfully they weren't burned. Setting them on the table, Erza was excited to see the outcome of her creation.

Her smile turned upside down when she saw her cupcakes.

"Ummmm… do you think they are edible?" Natsu asked Erza in a monotone voice as he pointed at the cupcakes.

"We'll find out I guess…?" Erza said, lacking the confidence she had earlier.

The cupcakes were definitely cooked, but they looked dry, and unappetizing.

Erza grabbed the frosting and tried to decorate the cupcakes, but was stopped by Natsu.

"Don't ice them yet. They're still too hot. The icing will melt." Natsu explained.

It was common sense, but Erza didn't have common sense when it came to cooking.

Putting the icing bag down, she pouted.

"I guess we can give them a plain taste test first." Natsu said as he ignored Erza's frown.

He took a cupcake off the tray and split it in half, giving one half to Erza. She accepted it with a smile and they both took a bite out of her (Natsu doesn't take responsibility in any of this) creation.

Chewing the cake, they both stood silent.

 _Crunch Crunch Crunch_

Natsu squinted at Erza.

"Ummm… Erza…" he said as he pulled out a piece of egg shell out of his mouth.

Sweat dropping, Erza's face shrunk. "They aren't that bad... right…?"

"Why is it salty…?" Natsu replied in a monotone voice, like he already expected it.

Tears began to form in Erza's eyes as she accepted the harsh words from Natsu.

"It's my fault. I mixed up the sugar with the salt when doing the measurements. And that's not all, egg shells are mixed in the batter. We're going to fail because of me!" Erza muffled as she tried to hold back her tears.

He was definitely not expecting that.

The truth is, they were definitely going to fail if they present these cupcakes. He half expected this outcome though.

He looked at the clock. There was about 30 minutes left before class ends. Calmly smiling to himself, he patted Erza on the shoulder.

"Calm down Erza." Natsu whispered.

Erza looked like she was going to break down. She had so much confidence in her work before, just to be thrown under the bus.

"We still have 35 minutes. We're probably going to cut it close, but we definitely can whip out another batch in time." Natsu reassured the girl.

Erza looked at the boy astonished.

"But I'm going to need your help. Could you please gather the ingredients quickly?" Natsu asked.

Erza nodded before quickly dashing to gather the ingredients. Meanwhile, Natsu grabbed both icing bags, deciding to chill it since they won't have time to let the cupcakes cool down after baking them. They will be fine as long as the icing lasts when the teacher tastes it.

Looking at the two bags of icing, Natsu stared at the red one, and then at the blue one, before tossing the blue one in the trash. Erza had made more than enough of the red icing that the blue wasn't needed, but he also had something else in mind.

Erza in the storage room, quickly managed to gather all the ingredients again. Running out of the room, she yelled out to Natsu who was putting the icing in the fridge.

Natsu hurriedly rushed back to their station. He then gave Erza a reassuring look.

"Do you trust me?" Natsu asked monotone.

Erza's eyes widened, before she nodded with a stern face.

"I trust you." Erza replied.

Grinning, Natsu took off his glasses, and set them on the counter. He then quickly measured all the ingredients in a flash. Mixing everything into a bowl, not even looking at the recipe, he managed to finish the batter about five times faster than Erza had.

All Erza did was examine from afar as he tried his best to make up for her errors. Keeping an eye on him, she saw different things in him. It was the second time Erza had seen him without glasses. The first time was when they first met, after Loke had took them off and threw them along with the rest of this things. But he looked quite different compared to before. Back then, he was not confident and seemed fragile. Right now, however, he was filled with confidence and she feels something sparking within him.

He then poured the batter into the tray and shoved it into the oven.

Natsu took a second to catch his breath. Looking at the clock, there was still 20 minutes before class ended. Taking 15 minutes to bake, they would have 5 minutes to let the cakes cool and to ice.

"We… did it!" Natsu said as he breathed heavily.

He then turned around to give the girl a high-five, but she ignored it.

"No… you did it." Erza stared at the floor.

Stopping his long breaths, he placed his hand down.

"That's not true. We both did. You gathered the ingredients and made the icing." Natsu replied.

Erza looked up to where the icing used to be. Not finding it anywhere, she began to panick.

"Where did it go?!" Erza shouted.

"I put them in the fridge to chill a little. Could you please go get it? I'm a little worn out." He requested.

Erza nodded in response. It was the least she could do after getting carried like that. It was laughable to think that she said she'll be carrying him.

Walking towards the fridge, she found the blue icing that Natsu had thrown out. She looked at it in confusion, before opening the fridge to see a bag of red icing that she made, and a new pink bag.

Taking both of them back, she questioned Natsu about it.

"Why did you throw away the blue icing?" Erza asked.

Natsu grabbed both bags of icing from her hands.

"I think pink suits red more than blue. That's all." Natsu laughed, causing the redhead to blush furiously.

He took the large pointed tip and began filling each cupcake with a layer of pink. Next, he took a smaller tip and began drawing heart shapes on top with the red frosting.

"There all done! With a minute to spare!" Natsu grinned.

Erza looked at Natsu before looking at his creation. She was mesmerized by how wonderful they looked.

"Well, I don't know how they taste since we didn't have time to try them. But I think they'll pass." Natsu gave the girl a thumb up.

Erza's stomach growled at his remarks. This caused her to look down in embarrassment.

"Don't worry Erza. We're only required to hand in one. The rest we can eat at lunch in a few minutes." Natsu said as he placed a cupcake on a plate. He then proceeded to bring the cupcake for tasting, as Erza watched him go up to the teacher.

It took a few seconds, but Natsu turned around and raised his thumb up high enough so that Erza could see with a big smile on his face. All she could do was smile in return.

At lunch, they walked towards their usual lunch spot together, to see that Lucy was already there.

"Oh my! You guys made up?!" Lucy cheered as she saw her two friends arrive at the same time.

"I guess…" Natsu said, with no expression really.

"I wouldn't say made up. But he did save me today, so I'll let him slide this one time." Erza smiled at her friend.

"That's good to hear!" Lucy hugged her best friend.

"So how did he save you today?" Lucy curiously asked.

She paused for a second, thinking whether she should tell her the truth or not. If she did, she wouldn't stop hearing it for a while. But before she could say anything, Natsu took out the container with the cupcakes they had made in class.

"Here." Natsu said as he handed the cupcakes over to Lucy.

The blonde looked at them and her eyes brightened.

"I never had your cooking for so long!" Lucy grinned as she quickly opened the container.

Taking out a cupcake she began to munch on it.

"Derr-ic-ious!" Lucy mumbled as she happily munched on it.

Erza looked at the blonde, and then looked at the boy.

"Wait… Natsu can cook?" Erza asked to Lucy.

Finishing the cupcake, Lucy rapidly nodded her head.

"Natsu's cooking is the best! Well probably after my mama's cooking." Lucy giggled.

Erza looked at Natsu again, who was quietly eating his food, not paying any attention to them.

"But he burns everything in class." Erza told Lucy as she pointed at the boy.

"I just like fire okay." Natsu replied as he continued to eat.

"Don't mind him Erza. He has a little sister, so he tries his hardest to cook the best foods possible so that his sister would complement him like 'ONI-CHAN YOUR COOKING THE BEST! I LOVE YOU!' yeah something like that." Lucy explained.

"Oh. So he has a sister complex." Erza then turned around to look at Natsu, who was staring at them in shock. "Don't worry. I understand. I won't judge you." Erza bowed to him.

Natsu just packed his lunch and left the area, while the two girls just laughed as his silhouette fades into the background.

Natsu was still a mystery to her, but Erza knows, that someday, he'll open up to her.

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 **A/N:**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks had gone by since Natsu joined Fairy High for his final year of high school. It wasn't exactly easy for him to blend in with the crowd. Being the target of Loke's malicious behavior, he had to endure every day, pretending like nothing ever happened. He made Lucy worried enough in the past and didn't want to cause her anymore problems. Natsu knew very well, that she had shed countless number of tears for him, and he swore that he would never make her cry again. Also, he definitely didn't want to be under Erza's radar again. If she ever finds out, he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Oh yeah, before I forget. Mama wants to invite you and Wendy over for dinner tonight." Lucy said as she playfully clung on to Natsu's arm.

School had already been dismissed and Natsu had to go pick Wendy up from her school. Lucy decided to tag along since she hadn't seen Wendy in a while. Not to mention that she just adored the little girl. She even considered Wendy as her own little sister.

"Huh? What for?" Natsu asked as he shook Lucy off politely.

Pouting, she began to speak. "She just wanted to see you. To make sure that you're okay."

Thinking about it for a second, he kindly declined the offer.

"You can take Wendy, but I'm not going. Tell her that I'm doing good though." Natsu replied as he continued to walk.

Lucy felt a sudden sadness welling up inside of her after hearing his response. She really wanted him to come. He hadn't been over to her house in ages, and her parents were kind of worried about him. After all, they promised his parents that they would look after him and Wendy.

She stopped and pulled on his arm to get his attention.

"You've changed." Lucy depressingly said.

Natsu turned around to look at the girl who stopped him. His face softened when he saw Lucy, on the verge of tears.

"We used to hang out a lot. You came over almost daily. Every day would be filled with joy and laughter. Every time I close my eyes to sleep I just can't stop waiting for the next day to come so that I could see you again." Lucy paused for a second.

"But now, you don't come visit us anymore, you don't give us a call, you barely even talk to me privately now." Lucy began to cry. "It hurts me to think that you're suffering alone!"

Looking at Lucy, Natsu felt bad. Even though he promised that he would never make her cry again, and here she is, crying once again.

It's true and he couldn't deny it. He enjoyed spending time with Lucy. Those memories he made with her when they were little, he would never trade them for anything else. It's just that, many things happened in the past two years and there was just no way that he could relive the old days.

At least not yet.

What's worst is that he knew how Lucy felt about him. He wasn't going to lie to himself. If things didn't turn out like this, he would definitely be head over heels for her. She was nice, smart, and cute. She was like the perfect girl, and anyone who got with her would be considered the luckiest man alive. If things turned out differently, there was no doubt that they would be dating by now.

But he had no time for something as trivial as dating at the moment. There was just no way that he could return her feelings. As of right now, he only considers her as his best friend or as a sister. All he wished for was for her to move on from him, and find someone that is better than himself. She deserves that much at least.

The only thing he can do for her right now was to accept her offer.

Putting on his most genuine smile, he ruffled her hair.

"I'm just kidding! I could definitely use some of Layla-san's cooking right now! Not to mention I could steal some of her recipes and put them in my arsenal" Natsu beamed.

Lucy's eyes widened before it turned into a cute pout. "You promise?"

"Of course! Now stop crying you baby!" Natsu smacked both of her cheeks together before swiftly taking off.

Lucy's face reddened in embarrassment after she realized what she had done. She may have just confessed to him without her realizing.

Noticing that the boy was already gone, she quickly ran to catch up with him.

After picking Wendy up from her school, the siblings decided to go home first so that Natsu could change out of his school clothes. Apparently, Wendy wasn't a fan of his "nerd" outfit and wanted him to change his clothes. But who could blame her? His attire definitely didn't fit his image, and Lucy had to agree.

"Natsu-nii please change before you go!" Wendy squeamishly shouted.

"But why?" Natsu rolled his eyes before sighing.

"I don't like the way you dress…" Wendy shyly frowned while poking her fingers together.

Lucy tried her best to hold in her laughter, but couldn't. Giggling in the background, Lucy jolted back when Natsu tried to grab her, clearly irritated.

"Fine! I'll go home and change!" Natsu frustratingly walked away, while Wendy followed from behind.

"Don't blame me if I come back in a clown suit!" Natsu shouted back.

Lucy laughed at the male storming off before making her way home.

Regrettably, the three didn't notice the two silhouettes that were eavesdropping on them from afar.

* * *

Twenty minutes had passed since Lucy arrived home. She was currently helping her mom in the kitchen, prepping for dinner. It was a big feast since Lucy invited three of her friends over. That's right. Three. She had not told Natsu that there was another person coming. Natsu was in for a surprise when he sees who shows up.

Speaking of her guests, the doorbell rang, which means that one of them were here. Lucy quickly placed her knife down and bolted away.

"Don't worry mama, I'll get it!" Lucy shouted before dashing off towards the door.

Unlocking the knob, Lucy opened the door to see her first guest had arrived. Standing there was a girl with scarlet red hair tied into a clean ponytail. She was dressed in a simple white tank top with black tights, different from what she would be usually be seen in.

"Hello Lucy." Erza greeted.

"Hey Erza! Come on in!" Lucy replied as she stepped back to let the girl in.

Peeping out of the kitchen, Layla smiled when she saw the redhead coming inside.

"Hi Layla-san." Erza bowed in respect when she noticed the older lady.

"ERZAAAAA!" the older woman ran for the girl and embraced her in a motherly hug.

"Thanks for having me." Erza smiled as she returned the hug.

"No problem! You're always welcome" Layla giggled excitingly as if she was still a teenager. "Besides, you get to meet Lucy's boyfriend today."

Lucy's face whitened at her mom's remark.

"I already met him. Natsu right?" Erza giggled.

"Yeah! Isn't he so cool?! If only I were twenty years younger." Layla frowned.

In the kitchen, a man could be heard faking coughs.

"Sure…?" Erza faked a laugh in agreement.

She didn't know why, but Erza couldn't really agree that he was "cool". To her, he was more like the type that would isolate himself from everyone else. Erasing that thought, it wasn't like. He does isolate himself from everyone else. Maybe giving the cold shoulder to people could be considered "cool" in Layla's books.

"Mama! I'm right here you know!" Lucy yelled at her mom.

"Sorry dear!" Layla giggled. "Anyways Erza, we can start dinner after Natsu and Wendy-chan arrives. Lucy why don't you have a chat with Erza while papa and I finish up?"

Lucy nodded and sighed at her mom's embarrassing comments before taking Erza upstairs to her room. There, they can have girl talk. Just the two of them.

Closing the door behind her, Lucy fell backwards on her bed and groaned.

"Don't mind mama. She's always like that." Lucy explained.

Erza giggled at Lucy's frustrations before teasing her even more.

"So, how does it feel to have your boyfriend come over for dinner?" Erza smirked.

Lucy rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Please, not you too Erza."

"I'm joking!" Erza snickered.

Sighing to herself, she covered her face with a pillow before wailing. Erza stared at the girl who was flailing around in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Erza asked.

Lucy continued to flail for a second before coming to a stop. She took off the pillow that was burying her face and sat up. Looking at Erza with a reddened face, Lucy confessed.

"I may have… confessed… to him unintentionally…" Lucy hid her face in embarrassment.

Erza wasn't shocked or anything. She was already used to people confessing and stuff.

"And… how did he respond?" Erza questioned.

"I don't think he understood." Lucy replied.

"What do you mean he didn't understood?" Erza asked.

Lucy was playing with her fingers, nervously. "I guess I was beating around the bush. It wasn't like I was actually confessing to him or anything. He probably just doesn't see me that way."

Erza looked quite shocked at the last part.

"But Lucy, you're probably the most popular in school. I'm sure he feels for you in some way!" Erza tried to reassure the girl.

Lucy faked a laugh. Little does she know, but Erza was definitely the most popular in school. She could tell that even Natsu had taken some interest in her. She just didn't want to tell her.

"Oh right, I never did tell Natsu that you were coming today." Lucy said, a little more serious.

"Hmm, why not?" Erza asked.

"To surprise him!" Lucy replied.

"Surprise…?" Erza raised a brow in confusion.

Lucy nodded. "I think he's comfortable enough around you now to show you his true self."

"True self? I'm getting more confused the more you talk." Erza giggled.

The doorbell rang and Layla called for the girls from downstairs.

"You'll see. Could you please open the door? I'm going to change first." Lucy requested.

Erza nodded slowly in confusion as she left the room.

Opening the front door, Erza was greeted by a male. He was wearing a white flannel and black shorts. He had spiky pink hair and was also wearing a familiar white scarf. Erza wasn't the type to drool over anyone, but she had to admit, he would be considered "hot" to most girls. Erza herself was taken aback when a blush crept on her face.

"Hey Luce! I'm ba—" Natsu stopped talking after realizing who had greeted him at the door.

"ERZA?!" Natsu shouted.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped to the floor. Wendy looked at her foolish brother in confusion before turning to the girl at the door.

"You must be Erza-san. Natsu-nii always talks about you at home." Wendy bowed in politeness.

Wendy was the shy type, but she was also really honest.

Natsu's eyes widened even further and his face slightly reddened at his sister's remark.

Erza was still in in amazement. Seeing Natsu, he wasn't in his usual school attire. He wasn't wearing glasses, nor did he have flat hair. From the way he reacted to her presence, he seemed like a completely different person.

She just had too much to take in.

Trying her best to act like she wasn't flabbergasted, she continued to greet the siblings.

"Hey Natsu… This must be your sister. Hi, I'm Erza! Nice to meet you!" Erza patted the younger girl on the head, trying her best to remain calm.

"It's nice to meet you Erza-san!" Wendy shyly shouted.

"Yeah, she's my sister, BUT WHY ARE YOU HERE ERZA?!" Natsu shouted, still stunned to see that the school president was here.

"Lucy invited me over. Got a problem?!" Erza smirked, almost teasingly.

Natsu sweat dropped before responding.

"Uhhh… Tell Lucy that I have something to do. Let's go Wendy!" Natsu tried to take off, but stopped when he was dragged on the shirt by Erza.

The redhead still had a smile on her face.

"You're already here, so might as well eat before you go!" Erza forced herself to smile as tick marks appeared on her head.

She wasn't going to let this chance go to waste.

Before he knew it, Natsu was sitting at the dinner table with Erza, Wendy, Lucy, and her parents. The atmosphere was pretty tense and awkward. Natsu stared down at Lucy, who was at the opposite side of the table, making faces as if asking "why is Erza here".

The redhead was sitting beside Lucy, not paying much attention to the other two. She was just happily enjoying a home cooked meal. She didn't get to have home cooked meals often, so she wanted to take advantage of this. Wendy, who was opposite of Erza, was also happily enjoying her meal.

"Layla-san! Your cooking is still the best!" Wendy told the older lady.

Layla smiled genuinely at the younger girl.

"Well if you enjoy it that much, you're welcomed to come over for dinner anytime!" Layla responded.

"Thank you! If only Natsu-nii could cook this well!" Wendy stuck her tongue out playfully at her older brother, who was sitting beside her.

"I'm sorry that we're eating cup noodles okay!" Natsu mumbled to the girl. This earned him a stare from Layla.

"What?! You guys are living on cup noodles?!" Layla shouted.

Natsu and Wendy nodded slowly in response.

"Why? Cup noodles don't have nutritional values, not to mention, they're bad for you!" Layla worriedly responded.

Natsu looked at Wendy, and then back at Layla before responding.

"I'm still looking for a job after school. When I find one, I'll be cooking more." Natsu replied.

"Are you guys not doing well financially? If not we can—"

"We're still doing well with what was left behind for us. I just wanted to make sure that we had enough to pay rent." Natsu answered.

He didn't want to give too much information since it would worry them, not to mention, Erza was here.

Faking a cough, Jude tried to change the subject. He knew that it was sensitive to the boy, and his wife shouldn't go into his business.

"So Natsu, how's school been?" Jude, Lucy's father asked.

"It's alright I guess…" Natsu said as he took a bite of his food before eyeing Erza, who was paying no mind to the conversation.

"You know Natsu… if you're having trouble, you're welcomed to stay with us." Layla smiled.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to rely on others." Natsu replied as he took another bite.

"But if you're here, Lucy would—"

"STOP THAT MAMA!" Lucy shouted with a shade of pink tinted on her cheeks as she crossed her arms.

The poor girl just couldn't have it easy with all the teasing today.

"I'm just joking dear, calm down." Layla giggled at Lucy.

"But Natsu, jokes aside, the offer will always be up, so if you change your mind, you're always welcomed to stay." Jude said seriously.

Natsu looked at the older man, before giving him a firm nod in appreciation and gratitude.

Wendy was the last one to finish dinner, having everyone else wait for her. Erza offered to help do the dishes, but Lucy pushed her out of the kitchen.

"Guests shouldn't be doing dishes. Go have a chat with Natsu over there." Lucy said as she pointed a finger at the said boy, who was currently sitting on the couch with Wendy.

Erza nodded before making her way over to the siblings. Lucy smiled softly when Erza sat beside Wendy, before going back into the kitchen to help with the dishes.

They sat briefly for a moment, with no one saying anything. It was hard since Natsu wasn't exactly expecting Erza to appear tonight. Not to mention, he had let his guard down. If he knew she was coming, he wouldn't have gone home to change into his casual clothes.

Erza was the first to break the silence, trying to make it less awkward.

"Natsu, what's with the new look?" The scarlet girl asked.

"Uhmmmm…" Natsu tried his best to lie. "I heard this type of style is trending, so I thought I'll give it a try…"

"I see... I have to admit though. When I first saw you, I was surprised. This style suits you splendidly." Erza smiled.

Natsu looked away in embarrassment.

Noticing his flustered face, Erza giggled to herself before turning to Wendy.

"Wendy how old are you?" Erza questioned.

"Twelve…" Wendy replied shyly.

"So, five years younger than us I see. By the way Wendy, I wanted to ask. Is your brother always a loner?" Erza jokingly asked.

"Natsu-nii is not a loner!" Wendy shouted in retaliation to defend her brother.

Erza was brought back a little, surprised at the girl's sudden outburst.

"Calm down Wendy." Natsu said, also surprised at his little sister's reaction.

"Natsu-nii is the nicest person in the world." Wendy shouted.

"Oh really. How so?" Erza asked, actually curious for an answer.

"He tries his hardest every day. Not for himself, but for me, and I really appreciate that. He's really kind to me and would tolerate whatever I do. I know he make seem like a troublemaker, but he is really nice!" Wendy continued.

"I know he's hiding a lot of things from everyone, but it's only because he wants to protect me." Wendy paused.

Natsu was touched. He never knew his sister looked at him like that.

"Erza-san, you seem like a nice person as well, and my brother seems to like you. So, would you please take care of Natsu-nii for me as well?" Wendy bowed to the older girl.

Natsu was stunned.

"Woah Wendy! Where did that come from?!" Natsu freaked out, fearing for Wendy's life.

He turned to Erza, waiting to see what kind of reaction she would have. Luckily, her reaction was the opposite of what he expected.

"I see. He does seem like a good older brother. And of course, I'll take care of him for you!" Erza grinned.

"That's funny coming from you, prez." Natsu laughed at her response.

Erza glared at him, but then softened up when she saw that he was not afraid.

"You're not scared of my glare?!" Erza shouted, excitingly.

"Was I supposed to be?" Natsu raised a brow in confusion.

"Well everyone else seemed to disappear after I show them!" Erza explained.

"Well I guess it's because I see that a lot. I mean, I'm always the target of glares." Natsu laughed.

"You know Natsu, if you behave like this in school, I'm sure you'll be really popular, even amongst the girls." Erza giggled.

"Yeah… I guess…" Natsu replied as he stared off at the ceiling.

"If you have anything you want to share, you can trust me." Erza said seriously.

Silent for a moment, Natsu took a second to think.

He then stared Erza in the eye, with a serious expression, and also making sure that she was looking at him.

"What do I look like to you?" Natsu asked.

He thought that she would waver to reply, but instead was taken aback.

"You look like you, Natsu." Erza replied without hesitation.

"Like at school?" Natsu questioned.

Erza nodded slowly in confusion. "Yeah."

Surprised at her answer, he smiled at her.

"Maybe one day…" he answered her earlier question before asking his own.

"How about you? Got a boyfriend?" Natsu's mood brightened.

"I used to." Erza replied.

"Oh… interesting. What's he like?" Natsu asked.

Erza took a moment before answering.

"When I first met him, he was the kindest person I knew. He was the first person I fell in love with. But I guess things just didn't work out in the end." Erza answered sadly.

She then remembered that he had went to the same school as Natsu.

"Oh right, he also went to Fiore High." Erza added.

"Oh really? What's his name? Maybe I know him." Natsu curiously asked.

"Jellal." Erza's expression turned upside down when she said that name.

Hearing that name, he instantly knew who it was. He knew Jellal. He knew him really well, even if he wasn't close with him. Jellal was definitely not the nice guy Erza had made him out to be. The guy was part of the infamous, Salamander's gang after all.

Back in first year, there were rumors spreading that Jellal was a playboy, and had cheated on his girlfriend of many years. However, Natsu could confidently say that it wasn't a rumor. It was kind of Salamander's fault as well, since Jellal used his name to get girls, and he hadn't stopped him.

Salamander wasn't actually a bad person. Sure he caused some troubles, but that's because he grew up in that environment, so it couldn't be helped. Students from Fiore High just misunderstood him. Not to mention, Jellal was the person who spread the rumors of Salamander and made him infamous.

'So Erza was the rumored girlfriend…' Natsu thought to himself.

Going back on topic, Natsu asked her about a sensitive matter.

"So how did you guys break up? I mean, who would want to break up with a girl like you?" Natsu smirked, faking that he doesn't know what had happened between them.

He half expected the redhead to freak out at his teasing, and the other half that she kills him, but he got exactly the opposite.

Erza was tearing up.

Mentally slapping himself for his idiocy, Natsu quickly tried to comfort the girl.

"I'm sorry! Don't cry!" Natsu shouted as he waved at the girl.

"Natsu-nii! You made Erza-san cry!" Wendy shouted.

Hearing the commotion, Lucy came out of the kitchen to see what the three of them were doing.

"What happened?!" Lucy shouted as she saw her best friend crying.

"Natsu-nii made Erza-san cry!" Wendy shouted.

"It wasn't intentional!" Natsu tried to cover up.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted.

Before Lucy could punch him, Erza grabbed her arm before she made impact.

"I'm fine now…" Erza sniffled as she calmed herself.

"Thank goodness!" Natsu wiped the sweat off his face.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted again.

"Anyways… I guess I'll go now. Thanks for today Lucy." Erza got up and headed for the door.

"Natsu, go walk Erza home. You can pick Wendy up after." Lucy demanded.

"What?! Why?!" Natsu shouted in response.

"It's already nine. It's dangerous for a girl to walk home by herself this late. Besides, it's raining." Lucy explained as she pointed out the window

Looking out the window, the male sighed.

"I guess I have no choice do I…." Natsu groaned.

He quickly got up and intercepted Erza at the door.

"Erza, I'll walk you home." Natsu said, while scratching the back of his head and looking elsewhere, hiding his flustered face.

"Sure." Erza gave him the cutest smile.

Natsu's heart skipped a beat when she saw her smile. It was one of the prettiest smiles he had ever seen.

* * *

It was raining hard, and Natsu was holding an umbrella for the two of them. Even with an umbrella, they were still getting soaked since the umbrella wasn't big enough for two people.

The two of them weren't talking to each other since Natsu felt bad for making her cry before and didn't know what to say. Most of the walk was just the sound of raindrops bouncing off the umbrella.

Thinking back to their conversation from earlier, Natsu was facing a dilemma. He knew that the girl was reliable and trustworthy, but he also wanted to keep things a secret from her so that she wouldn't worry.

When he had seen her smile at him at the door, he felt his heart beat faster, as if he just fell in love. He wasn't sure if he actually liked her or not. It was similar to how he felt about Lucy back in the day, but we all knew how nothing happened between them.

Erza was also having issues. When she first saw Natsu at the door, she was honestly shocked. It wasn't even the way he dressed or anything like that. Erza wasn't the type to judge base on looks. No, what Erza was surprised at, was his change of personality. It made her heart flutter when he was slowly opening up to her.

Passing by the local convenience store, Natsu thought that one umbrella wasn't enough so he gave the current umbrella for Erza to hold, and he ran off by himself to buy another.

After Natsu left, Erza waited for him outside alone.

However, she didn't notice the two figures heading towards her. They were both wearing full black with a mask on. One of them slipped behind her and covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming, and they both dragged her away.

She tried to resist, but she couldn't fend off against two people at once. The only thing she left behind was the umbrella.

Her two captors dragged her to a nearby alleyway and pushed her to the ground. Her tank top ripped in the process, exposing her undergarments.

"Who are you people?!" Erza shouted.

She tried to not show fear in her voice, but no matter how hard she tried, she was trembling. Normally she would be able to fight back, but it all happened so fast and this was the first time she had encounter something like this. She also couldn't really see since it was dark and raining.

The two figures didn't reply to her question. Instead, they tried to get the remains of her top off, but she began to resist by flinging her arms around. One of her arms had hit one of them in the face. Frustrated, the figure lifted his arm up and tried to slap her.

Erza closed her eyes tightly.

When she noticed that nothing had happened, she slowly opened her eyelids to see that the captor's arm was caught by someone. When the captor turned to see who it was, he was punched in the face. His partner also turned around but got kicked in the stomach.

"You know, it really was a hassle to come out of the store to see that you were gone. You even made me drop my new bought umbrella when I ran around looking for you." Natsu faked an annoyed sound.

"Natsu!" Erza shouted.

The two got back up and began to retaliate. One of them jumped at Natsu, but he quickly fended him off. At first, they tried to fight Natsu one at a time, but he easily read their attacks.

They both came at him at once. One of them tried to kick Natsu on the side, but he blocked it with his arm. However, he didn't see the elbow aimed at his face, and was knocked back by brute force.

"I've seen these moves before…" Natsu said aloud.

However, Natsu was confident. He gestured the two to come at him once again. One of them was exchanging blows with Natsu, while the other tried to sneak up behind him. Natsu saw the one coming from behind and lodged an elbow into his stomach, causing the masked man to groan in pain. Natsu then took the opportunity to put him into a quick headlock and twisted his arm backwards.

"Move, and his arm breaks." Natsu threatened the other masked man.

He twisted the arm a little more, causing the man to shriek in pain. The other person glared at Natsu before stopping. Natsu then pushed his hostage towards his partner.

Erza could barely comprehend what was happening right now. Her heart was pounding against her chest due to the adrenaline.

She had never seen Natsu like that before. He was like a completely different person, yet he still had this aura of kindness radiating from him.

"Leave or I won't show mercy." Natsu glared at the two.

Facing defeat, the two of them limped away.

After they were gone, Natsu finally relaxed. He then quickly hurried to Erza's side, who was still shocked to witness what had happened.

"Erza are you alright?!" Natsu shouted in concern for the girl.

Erza didn't reply.

Looking at Erza, Natsu blushed. She was all wet, and her top was ripped. Her bra was showing as she laid on the ground. Trying his best not to look, he helped her stand up, using the wall as assistance.

"Natsu I—" before she could finish, Natsu pushed her against the wall and hovered over her. He put his hands beside her head and moved his body up to hers until they touched. It was a kabedon. He faced towards her, and moved closer until their foreheads touched. Looking at each other in the eye, Erza began to blush. Her heart felt like it was about to explode from their proximity. Their lips were so close that Erza could feel his breath.

"Natsu what are you—"

"Shhhhh."

Two people were walking by the alleyway and they saw a guy on top of a girl against a wall.

"Get a room you two!" One of them said as the other one laughed. Natsu turned around and used his most intimidating glare. The two of them got scared and ran off without another word. After they were gone, Natsu got off of Erza.

"Sorry. They might have been students from school. It would be troublesome for them to find out that the prez was in this type of situation." Natsu explained.

Erza just nodded in response, still shivering from the trauma.

The girl's fear then dissipated when she was drawn into an embrace.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault." Natsu apologized.

If he hadn't left her alone, this wouldn't have happened. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. Not to mention, he definitely knew the two of them. If they were targeting Erza because she was close to him, then it was truly his fault.

Erza paused for a moment before returning the warm hug.

"No, you saved me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart." Erza sincerely thanked him.

"I'm sure you're traumatized right now, so I'll take you home." Natsu released himself from her hold, unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, and placed it around Erza to cover her body.

"But you'll catch a cold." Erza worriedly said.

"Don't worry about it! A cold would never bring me down. Besides, I'll probably get a nosebleed and bleed to death if you don't cover up." Natsu jokingly said to lighten up the mood.

Erza smiled softly and accepted the shirt.

The rain still continued, but they walked without umbrellas since they lost both of theirs.

Thinking back at the situation, he may have shown too much. He wasn't sure how Erza would look at him now, or if she was scared of him.

So he decided to ask her.

"Hey Erza." Natsu asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" Erza replied.

"What do I look like to you?"

There was a moment of silence.

"You look like you, Natsu."

.

.

.

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys! I just finished watching Dragon Cry in theatres and it was amazing! I added a little dialogue from the movie where Natsu said it to Lucy, but I changed it so that he said it to Erza. Any of you guys spot it? It's really simple.**

 **Also, I would like to thank everyone for their comments on the story.**

 **Checkmate-13: I would like to thank you for your encouraging words! It truly means a lot to me! Thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

 **WolfTellsLife: I don't really consider myself as the savior of NaZa since there are some amazing stories out there! But thank you for your support!**


	5. Chapter 5

The walk to Erza's house was slow. The only sounds came from the rain clapping against the hard ground. The both of them were soaked from head to toe. With her torn shirt and the shirt lent to her by Natsu, Erza had no protection from the rain. That also includes Natsu since he's currently shirtless after giving up his top.

The weather had no signs of clearing up. In fact, rainfall became heavier. It must be pathetic fallacy with Erza feeling a little, or a lot, under the weather.

Natsu tried to lighten the mood by starting a conversation, but stopped to refrain himself from saying anything wrong.

Passing cars stared at him since he was topless, but he didn't pay them any mind. Looking at Erza, he couldn't help but frown when he noticed her staring depressingly at the ground. All he could do was comfort her by placing his hand on her shoulder. He wanted her to know that he was there, there for her.

Coming up to Erza's house, Natsu had an idea, but hesitated to suggest it to Erza. He bit his lower lip in frustration for even coming up with that idea. There was just no way that she would allow that to happen. It wasn't like he was anything to her anyways. They were just friends who met a few weeks back.

When they reached her doorsteps, Natsu bid Erza farewell, before heading back to Lucy's house to get Wendy. It was already getting late, and he didn't want his sister to worry.

But before he could leave, Erza had a suggestion of her own.

"Hey!" Erza shouted at the fleeing boy.

Natsu turned around to see Erza standing there in the rain.

"Since it's still raining, why don't you come in and wait until the weather clears up? You really will catch a cold." Erza smiled.

Natsu could see through her façade. If there was one thing he would boast about, it would be his ability to see through people.

He could tell that the smile she wore was covering her sorrow.

"Don't mind if I do." Natsu accepted her offer.

He wasn't sure if this was a good idea. Natsu knew she was in a state where things could go very bad. She was fragile right now. If he wanted to, he could take advantage of the situation, and she would break.

Fortunately, Natsu wasn't that type of person. All he wanted was to be there for her. If she needed anything, he would try his best to attend to her. Not to mention, he was still shirtless.

Walking into her house, the lights were off. The only source of light that entered the house was coming from outside. Closing the door behind him, he could barely see what was inside. Natsu inspected the area, trying to comprehend where he was, and then all of a sudden, he was attacked by something soft.

He was startled at first, but then gave a gentle smile as he realized who it was.

Erza rested her head on Natsu's bare chest with her hands on his body to support her. Natsu supported her by embracing her gently. He could feel her body tremble, but he didn't pay any mind to it.

They stood in silence for a moment, just enjoying each other's warmth.

"Erza." Natsu whispered, finally breaking the silence.

Erza pulled back a little to meet his gaze. Tears were running down her flushed cheeks.

"I was so scared… " Erza cried.

Natsu brought Erza's head back to his chest which surprised her.

"It's fine now. You're safe." He whispered gently.

"I don't know what I would do if you didn't show up!" The girl cried into his chest.

"No. It was my fault for leaving you in the first place. I'm sorry you had to endure that." Natsu apologized as he gritted his teeth in anger.

It was his fault, and he knew it. If he hadn't acquainted himself with her, then none of this would have happened. He wanted to apologize for dragging her into his mess.

The boy then felt a sudden rush of sadness as Erza quickly jumped away from him. She turned on the lights and he could finally see her entire presence.

"S-s-sorry!" Erza stuttered as she tried to avoid Natsu's gaze.

"What?" Natsu asked dumbfounded.

"You're…" Erza mumbled as she pointed at him.

Natsu turned his head downwards to look at his shirt… body.

He had to admit, his body looked great. He had a slim, yet muscular figure with a nice six pack. He could understand why Erza was flustered right now.

Nonetheless, he was still topless at a girl's house and at night.

"I'm going to use the shower!" Erza shouted as she ran upstairs.

Natsu stared at her retreating figure confused, but decided to wait for her downstairs.

Zoning out a little, he mindlessly stood, waiting for her for 10 minutes. There was a couch in the living room, but he didn't want to sit on it since he was still wet and didn't want to get the couch soaked.

Bored out of his mind, he decided to tour the house alone, without her permission.

Erza's home was actually like his own, small and comfy. It could probably fit a person or two, but any more than that would be too much.

There was a living room with a couch, tv, a shelf with books, and a table. There was a guest bathroom by the front door, along with a laundry room where he could see her clothes and undergarments hanging to dry. Turning away hastily before he gets caught, he entered the kitchen area.

The kitchen area had a stove, a fridge and a dining table with chairs, nothing too fancy. Opening the fridge in the kitchen, Natsu's eyes widened in surprise before he slowly closed it. There was just a bunch of cakes in there. He wondered how she kept her figure with an all cake diet.

He then decided to go upstairs.

There were two rooms. One had light emitting from it and he could hear the sound of running water, so that was probably the bathroom. The other room was definitely Erza's room.

Her room was closed as well, but curiosity got the best of him, and he slowly opened the door. Turning on the lights, the boy peeked inside. He could see a bed with pink sheets with cute stuffed animals, a shelf with pictures, a closet and a table with paper on it.

It was much more girly than he had imagined.

He stepped one foot into the room, hoping to get a better look, but couldn't take another step.

"What are you up to?" a voice suddenly called from behind.

Natsu screamed as he got caught. Turning around, he quickly bowed in apology.

"I just wanted to look around the house!" Natsu stuttered.

Not getting a response, he looked upwards slowly.

He honestly expected a death glare from a demon, he really did. Back in the day, Lucy would get really mad at him for sneaking into her room, so he thought that Erza would be the same.

Instead, Erza was grinning at him, like an angel.

She freshened up and wore a black tank top and white short shorts which greatly showcased her figure. Her long scarlet hair was tied into a neat ponytail and she had a nice scent of strawberries radiating from her. Her face was a little flushed.

Natsu was honestly speechless. He couldn't stop ogling.

"Ummm… you can use the shower now." Erza tried to avoid his gaze as she spoke.

She noticed him staring, which made her feel shy.

Nodding, Natsu quickly dashed into the bathroom.

Locking the door behind him, he smacked his face a few times.

'Calm down…' He said to himself.

Looking into the mirror, he could see his face turning light red. Taking deep breaths, he calmed his pounding heart.

Taking off his clothes, which is just his pants and boxers, he entered the shower. Turning on the water, he set it to the hottest without hesitation.

No one knew why, but Natsu loved the heat. He loved spicy foods and hot temperatures. If he could, he would probably eat fire.

Exhaling, he relaxed as the hot water massaged his body. There was nothing better than taking a hot shower after being in the rain.

He tried closing his eyes to enjoy the water embrace his body, but images of Erza began to appear in his head. Flashbacks of the events played in his mind. From the moment she had greeted him at Lucy's house, back at the dark alley, back when they first entered her house, and back when he had been staring at her before he entered the shower.

Quickly opening his eyes, he ruffled his hair, trying to think of other things besides Erza. But to no avail, the redhead kept invading his mind.

'This is bad!' Natsu thought to himself.

This was what he was afraid of.

He even tried his best to act differently so that no one would get close to him.

He's already trying his hardest to not get Lucy involved, but now…

'If they find out, then they surely would, no they already know. That's why it happened.'

He didn't want to admit it, so he frantically tried to rid his thoughts of the girl.

It just wasn't possible for him to have feelings for anyone.

He had to hold himself back.

But then he realized one thing.

Erza had been here, in this shower, just a few minutes ago. The same exact spot where he's standing right now, Erza was naked not a while ago.

This made the boy even more flustered then before. He was getting light-headed since his blood rushed to the top of his head, threatening to pour out of his nose.

He almost slipped when he hurriedly ran out of the shower. Quickly drying himself off, and using the hair dryer to dry his pants, he realized that he didn't have his shirt.

Opening the door slowly to not be seen, he was greeted by the redhead standing in front of the door.

"Ummm… hey?" Natsu looked at her, surprised to see her standing there.

"Hehehe sorry. I forgot that I still had your shirt." Erza giggled as she handed the now dried shirt, back to him.

"Thanks." he smiled as he took his shirt back.

Natsu decided to put his shirt on right in front of the girl. He couldn't tell, but Erza was furiously blushing as she stared at him.

She didn't realize it before, but Natsu was actually quite well built. His muscles looked firmed and he had a six pack. She never would have thought that the school nerd had a body like this. If anything, the ladies should be all over him.

Erza suggested heading to the kitchen for some warm tea and Natsu nodded in agreement.

Natsu sat down at the table while Erza prepared two cups of warm tea. Setting the cups on the table, she went to the fridge to bring out a slice of strawberry cake. Sitting across from the boy, she closed her eyes and began to happily bite into her cake as Natsu watched.

The male stared at her as she ate her beloved cake. Looking at her, Natsu felt a sudden joy. It's as if nothing had happened. She was just being herself.

"You really like cake, don't you?" Natsu giggled.

Opening her eyes, she seemed confused.

"Oh, did you want some?" Erza asked with a small frown.

He sweat dropped when he saw her disappointment.

"No… I think I'm good." Natsu replied as he took a sip from his cup.

"I mean if you want some, I can give you a little." Erza mumbled shyly as she poked a tiny piece of cake with her fork and offered it to the boy.

Natsu choked a little on his tea. He began to turn a little red.

"Nono Erza, you eat it!" Natsu quickly denied.

Erza just shrugged her shoulders and continued.

Taking some time to calm himself, he sighed.

"It's still raining." Natsu moaned as he gazed out the window.

The weather hadn't changed at all. Looking out her window, Erza had an idea.

"Why don't you call Wendy and tell her to stay at Lucy's house for the night. I don't think the rain is going to die down anytime soon so you can stay here for the night." Erza proposed.

Natsu was taken back a little. Did he hear her right? Stay for the night? He never thought of staying over. He was planning to leave after his shower. But taking in the suggestion, he nodded in agreement. The weather was definitely not the best, and it was already getting a little late. There was a chance that Wendy is already asleep.

He dialed Lucy's number.

"What?! Why?!" Lucy shouted.

"Because it's raining and I don't want to get wet!" Natsu shouted back.

"Who cares? Don't you always say that you never get sick?" Lucy responded.

"Well if you insist, then I'll come back." Natsu sighed.

"I'm just kidding. Wendy already took a shower and is now sleeping peacefully beside me. You took too long!" Lucy quietly shouted.

"Thanks Luce. I owe you one." Natsu laughed.

"No problem. But, don't you dare lay a finger on Erza." Lucy said with a hint of jealousy.

"Of course not! You want me to die or something?" Natsu shouted.

Erza raised a brow at him.

"Anyways, see you tomorrow." Natsu said before hanging up.

"Are you sure this will be okay?" Erza asked as sipped her tea.

"Yeah. Lucy and Wendy are close so she was probably going to tell Wendy to stay over anyways. She just wanted to tease me a little." Natsu sighed.

"Lucy is a nice girl. You know that right Natsu?" Erza smiled softly.

Natsu didn't respond and avoided her gaze.

"By the way… sorry for troubling you earlier…" Erza mumbled as she poked at her cake mindlessly.

Natsu met her eyes before raising a brow. "For what?"

"You know, after coming in… I wasn't acting myself." Erza confessed.

It was now her turn to look away.

"It's cool." Natsu responded.

Erza looked back at him after hearing his response.

"It's rude to laugh." Erza pouted as she noticed him laughing.

"It's just nice to see that you're feeling better." Natsu grinned.

"I'm fine now. Thank you.." Erza's voice lowered.

"I'm sorry." Natsu frowned as he apologized again.

"Don't, it's not your fault. I normally would have been able to defend myself. It's just that I dropped my guard back there." Erza replied.

Natsu wanted to tell her that it might have been his fault that she was targeted, but he didn't have the courage.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Natsu asked once again to confirm.

"Yeah, I'm getting over it. Don't worry." Erza reassured him.

Sitting in silence for a moment, Erza looked at Natsu seriously.

"Hey Natsu. I have something to tell you." Erza said.

"Yeah, what is it?" Natsu looked at her and replied.

"I never told anyone this. Not even to Lucy. Only one other person knows, so I'm, trusting you." Erza responded.

"Then why are you telling me?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Because I feel like I can trust you." Erza blushed as she avoided his gaze in embarrassment.

It was true. She did trust him. A lot actually.

"About what happened back there. Ten years ago, I experienced something similar." Erza began.

Natsu's eyes widened in shock at her remark.

"It wasn't to the same extent, but it was kind of similar. When I was young, my parents were busy, so I usually stayed at a daycare until they came to pick me up. I was seven at the time, but I remembered it clearly." Erza said as she recalled her memories.

"It wasn't easy for me because I would be constantly bullied. It was because of my hair. Everyone thought that I was different because I was the only one with red hair. It made me despise it. I wanted to cut it all off." Erza continued as she gently brushed her hair with a hand.

"One day, a group of boys, who were about eleven or twelve, got extra rough. They pushed me to the ground, and hit me. No one came to help because the adults were usually busy taking care of other things. But that was when I met him." She paused for a second.

"A blue haired boy, the same age as me. I knew about him for a while since it turned out that we went to the same school, but we never really talked because he always kept to himself. But, I still remember it clearly. When I needed help the most, he stood up against the bullies. He said 'Don't be bothered by what the others have to say, I like your hair.'" The girl smiled as she remembered her past.

"Even though he was younger, he managed to defend me. They began to brawl, and he was doing pretty well for a seven year old against some older boys. I thought that he was cool, and before I knew it, I fell in love with him." Erza giggled as she recalled her childhood crush.

"Hearing the commotion, the adults came to break it up obviously. He didn't come out uninjured, but he still smiled and asked if I was alright. Our relationship started back in middle school after he asked me out. We were always together, practically inseparable. Being together with him was probably the happiest I've ever been." Erza's face then darkened a little.

"Unfortunately, we went to different high schools, but we still kept in touch. But, during the year, he began to act differently. He was more distant, and I could feel something vicious radiating from him. He wasn't the same person I knew from back then. He did things behind my back, and broke my heart. You should know who it is." Erza forced a smile, pretending that she wasn't hurting.

"I'm pathetic aren't I? After breaking up with him, my heart is still in pain. I tried to meet new guys, but I always end up rejecting them all." Erza began to tear up.

Natsu didn't say anything at first, he just shook his head.

"I don't think you're pathetic." Natsu responded.

"Really?" Erza looked at him.

"Yeah. I think you're brave. You're telling your story to me, a guy you met a few weeks ago. Even Lucy doesn't know the details to this extent. So I thank you for trusting me." Natsu grinned.

"You know Natsu… back then, you reminded me a lot about the past him." Erza wiped her eyes and smiled in return.

Natsu's eyes popped open in surprise. Not letting this chance go to waste, he smirked maliciously at Erza.

"Ohhhhh. So does that mean you have fallen for me?" Natsu teased the girl.

Realizing what Natsu had said, the redhead quickly heated up in embarrassment.

"It's not like that!" Erza squealed at his remark.

"But you just said—"

"STOP ITTTTTT!" Erza yelled as she got up from her chair with a fork in hand, and leaned over, roughly stuffing a piece of cake into Natsu's mouth before he could finish his sentence.

"I'm sor…ryyyy!" Natsu choked as he had a fork stuck into his mouth.

Calming down, Erza sat back on her seat, faking a cough to pretend like that never happened.

Natsu still had the fork lodged in his mouth. Chewing on the cake, he smiled in amazement.

"I can see why you like cake. This tastes great!" Natsu grinned at the girl.

"I told you! Now give me back my fork!" Erza yelled, frustrated that she couldn't eat her cake.

Natsu paused.

He just realized that he still had Erza's fork in his mouth. It's basically an indirect kiss!

Noticing that Natsu was trembling, Erza got up to grab the fork out of his mouth herself. She then continued to finish her cake.

This made Natsu even more flustered.

"Wait—I just used that!" Natsu shouted.

Erza looked up at him in confusion, as if she didn't care.

"And? If I don't mind, why do you care?" Erza asked, as if there was nothing wrong.

"Never mind then." Natsu sweat dropped.

Finishing her cake, Erza took the plate and cups and washed them before placing them on the drying rack. It was already 12am, but the two didn't show any signs of fatigue.

"Oh, by the way, what were you doing in my room before?" Erza asked curiously as she sat down on the couch.

"Nothing!" Natsu quickly answered as he sat nervously on the other end of the couch.

"By the way, where will I be sleeping tonight?" Natsu asked, trying to change the topic.

"You can sleep in my room." Erza answered.

Natsu looked at her confused.

"Then where will you be sleeping?" Natsu questioned.

"In my room." Erza answered again, as if she didn't care.

"What?!" Natsu yelled.

"It doesn't really matter to me. I'm a really open person." Erza grinned.

"Well it matters to me!" Natsu shouted with his cheeks turning red.

'How did it come to this?' He said in his head.

"Then you can sleep on the couch." Erza sighed.

"I think I'll do just that! Thanks!" Natsu sweat dropped.

"I had a spare mattress in my room, so you could have slept on that, but if you insist." Erza shrugged.

Natsu facepalmed.

"You could have said that before…" Natsu sighed.

"Why? Did you think that we would be sharing the same bed?" Erza's eyes widened at that thought.

"No no! Of course not!" Natsu retaliated. "But I think I'll sleep here anyways. I don't think having a boy and a girl sleep in the same room is a good idea."

"Well, since you're here, do you want to see my room?" Erza asked.

Natsu thought about it for a second.

If he enters her room, then things could go very bad. Her clothes were revealing, and they were home alone. Not to mention that she's probably feeling insecure after the incident.

"Sure!" Natsu replied, sending all those thoughts out the window.

When they entered her room, Natsu's nose instantly picked up her scent.

'This room smells exactly like her.' Natsu thought to himself, causing him to blush.

They both sat down on her bed, with their backs leaning against the wall.

Erza pointed at things in her room and explained to Natsu what they were.

Looking through her collection, Natsu learned something new about Erza. She loved collecting all sorts of exotic clothing. She had armors, bunny suits, and even a tutu with a goose head sticking out of it. Laughing at the tutu, he teased her by telling her that she would look great in it, causing her to blush.

She then pulled out a photo album.

Flipping through the pages, she described what was going on in the photos. Natsu was glad, even if he didn't know himself. He was learning a lot about Erza, and he felt happy that they got so close.

Erza was also feeling the same way. She was content that she was able to talk with Natsu so casually. Unlike at school, he was much more approachable now. She didn't know why, but when she's with him, she feels all warm and fuzzy.

She didn't want to admit it, but she may have fallen for the pink haired boy.

"Wow, you were such a cute kid!" Natsu giggled as he pointed at a picture of Erza when she was younger.

"Hey! What do you mean by 'were'?" Erza pouted.

"Of course you're still cute now!" Natsu laughed.

Erza's eyes widened in embarrassment. Natsu just continued to tease.

The night went along as the two of them continued to chat and laugh with each other. From Erza talking about the times when people ran off after seeing her, and Natsu telling embarrassing stories of Lucy.

She tried to ask about his past since she told him hers, but he always changed the subject.

"I'll tell you another time, it's already late. We still have school tomorrow!" Natsu said.

"But I'm not sleepy." Erza lied.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to not fall asleep. She was just having too much fun right now.

Erza had never enjoyed herself this much with a boy ever since she broke up with Jellal.

After a few more minutes, drowsiness had hit Erza like a truck. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep with her head resting on Natsu's shoulder.

Natsu stared at the sleeping girl beside him. His heart was beating fast.

He tried to adjust so that he could leave without her waking up, but stopped when she began to stir.

The way she looked when she was asleep caused Natsu to redden. Her sleeping face was cute, and she was so close to him. He could smell her scent and feel her breathing. Not to mention, she's practically defenseless right now. He was happy that she trusted him so much.

Leaning in a little, he gave her a little kiss on the forehead.

'It's alright if it was just this once, right?'

Laying back, he rested his head on hers, falling into a slumber as well.

.

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 **A/N:**

 **First of all, I just want to say that the views of this story DOUBLED after last chapter! It isn't a lot compared to "I'll Look After You" or the old story, but I guess that NaZa fans aren't as active on the site anymore.**

 **But I want to thank everyone for spending their time reading it. It really means a lot to me!**

 **Also, if there are any grammar or spelling errors, feel free to tell me! I usually write these chapters in a day or two and finish by 4am before submitting, so I definitely won't be able to catch everything. I might even go back to adjust some stuff if it doesn't flow well.**

 **WolfTellsLife: I really want to thank you for sending me some encouraging PMs! I'm also a NaLu fan, but the way Erza looks at Natsu, and how much she trusts him in the manga and anime shows how much respect the ship deserves! She always says his name after the villain is defeated which shows how much faith she has in him.**

 **Draco711: You should go see Dragon Cry! It was awesome! I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just leave you in the dark for now ;)**

 **BlackDragonShinigami: I'll take that as the story flows much better than the old one. Thanks for reading!**

 **WolfGaming: Thanks for reading my stories!**

 **Kodosans: This is a reboot of the old story so some stuff will be changed, but thanks for reading!**

 **Once again, thanks to everyone for reading and I'll try to update fast! Until next time!**


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